Saturday, November 15, 2008

Michael Ware and Peter Bergen made some appearances on Veteran's Day to discuss the realities on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. What does the new administration face and is there any realistic chance of wrapping the wars up and getting the troops home anytime soon?

First, on Campbell Brown's program:

Later, on AC360:

Earlier in the day, Michael was on World News Europe on International, where he and retired General (and former presidential candidate) Wesley Clark discussed the threats on the ground:

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I've always been fascinated with technology and gadgets, so I look forward to Miles O'Brien's reports. And he always seems like he's having such a great time investigating the latest cool stuff. But his most-fun reports are the Shuttle launches. (And I refrained from saying he always looks like he's having a blast!)

In a piece that was supposed to air Friday but got bumped, Miles covers some of the challenges facing NASA as we enter the Obama years: the Shuttles are about to be retired and there will be several years when we will have to hitchhike on Russian launches if we want to get into space. How long that gap is depends on how much money we give NASA:

By the way, If you don't follow Miles as he Twitters (something else he does with relish ... and Miles can insert his own condiment joke here) here's a look at how launch day unfolded. Timestamps frozen at around 4pmET:

Launch day. Writing a piece for Sit Room on Obama and space. He did not start out well on this subject. But now offers chrome and tailfins. 4:55 AM yesterday from web

I love the whole Twitter thing when it comes to the reporters and correspondents; like BackStory, it gives us a chance to see what they do to get a story, put the piece together, and get it on the air. Absolutely fascinating.

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Speaking of BackStory: Richard Quest tours the CNN DC bureau roof while getting ready to cover the G-20 summit for International. Ever heard of "roof envy"? Well, now you have:

SATURDAY: Suzanne Malveaux was still in Chicago, covering the Obama transition team.

SUNDAY: David Mattingly was in Petionville, Haiti to cover the collapse of a school there; Morgan Neill reported from Ciego de Avila, Cuba on the effects of Tropical Storm Paloma; Matthew Chance reported from Moscow on the accident onboard a Russian nuclear submarine; Jessica Yellin was still in Chicago for the Obama transition; John King hosted Late Edition.

MONDAY: Barbara Starr was in Malakashay, Afghanistan; Carol Costello was in for Kiran Chetry; Fredricka Whitfield was in for Heidi Collins; John Roberts hosted Campbell Brown's show.

TUESDAY: Gary Tuchman was back in Atlanta; Fredricka handled in-studio duties while Heidi Collins reported live from the deck of the Intrepid; Michael Ware was in New York; Peter Bergen was in Washington.

WEDNESDAY: Fredricka was in for Heidi; Candy Crowley and Ed Henry were in Chicago for the Obama transition; John Zarella and Dana Bash were in Miami for the Republican Governor's convention; Wolf Blitzer was in Miami to interview Governor Sarah Palin.

THURSDAY: Fred was in for Kyra Phillips; Wolf was back in DC; Tom Foreman was in New Orleans to report on the KKK killing; Anderson Cooper hosted AC360 from Los Angeles (as he would also do on Friday).

FRIDAY: Chris Lawrence was in Montecito, California to report on the wildfire there; Richard Quest was in DC for the G20 summit; Miles O'Brien was at Kennedy Space Center for the launch of the Endeavor; Kitty Pilgrim hosted Lou Dobbs Tonight.